Port Aransas Soon to Roll Out First Conference Center

HOUSTON—So far for 2019, Port Aransas’ visitors arrivals have exceeded last year’s numbers by 40%. Those arrivals are expected to rise, thanks to the upcoming special events, festivals and 3,300 out of 4,200 lodging units (up from 2,200 last year) that are now open for business, along with the island’s 60 independently owned restaurants.

The town is gearing up to welcome visitors with new tourism developments, including a new beachfront/bayfront marina and resort, and the destination’s first conference center and hotel. This conference facility is slated to open in 2021 for gatherings of 500 to 2,000 people. The hotel portion is projected to include roughly 185 to 225 rooms when it breaks ground likely in February, according to Jeff Hentz, president and CEO of the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau.

“The conference center will be a multi-purpose building to accommodate dance and cheerleading events, nonprofit gatherings, fundraisers, cooking competitions and speaker series, offering a lot of differentiation for sure,” Hentz tells GlobeSt.com. “There will be ballroom and breakout space of about 25,000 square feet and the outdoor venue could accommodate concerts for 3,000 people.”

ZJZ Hospitality Inc., headed up by Deven Bhakta, president and CEO of ZJZ, is the developer partner with Cinnamon Shore to develop the new convention center that will be located on Cinnamon Shore’s south property at the southern end of the Port A district.

“The heavy lifting has been done. The city contract, land use and PLR have been completed,” Hentz tells GlobeSt.com. “We’ve met all of the requirements, and we’re now ready to finance and break ground. We have a 10-year plan with the state so we’re excited to get going.”

While Hentz can’t comment yet on the marina/resort project, he will say that it is backed by an international hospitality brand. Other projects are being rolled out by the three developments making up the Port A housing and hospitality market.

Cinnamon Shore, a 1,000-acre master-planned beachfront, family- and pedestrian-friendly community, will add Cinnamon Shore South, a $1.3 billion 300-acre expansion that will more than quadruple the existing community. It will include luxury homes, Town Center residences, community pools, a dining district with several restaurants, a retail destination, a health and wellness center, and a boutique hotel.

Cinnamon Shore North will also develop Fountain Plaza Cottages, a collection of seven small-scale beach homes, each with slightly less than 1,000 square feet, priced from $396,000 to $485,000. They will join Sunset Cottages, another group of small homes now underway at Cinnamon Shore North.

Palmilla Beach Resort & Golf Community opened a new golf course on June 1 to include nine holes of links-style play, plus THE LOOP, a 3-hole Par 3 course and a driving range. Palmilla Beach includes family beach homes, available to purchase or for a vacation rental. Homes range from condos and townhomes to cottages and custom homes. Homesites begin in the $200,000s and completed homes from the $500,000s.

Sunflower Beach Resort & Residences, is on 50 acres of protected dune preserves with beach homes, lots, 21 single-level poolside condos. It has nearly completed the first phase of 25 new one- and two-bedroom beach cabins priced from $382,000 to $499,000 at The Camp. The latest home type to arrive at Sunflower is The Row townhomes, a small collection of family villas. The planned mix of custom-built homes, lots, luxury beach cabins, family villas and modern condos are complemented by a central beach club with separate adult and family pools, direct beach access and a short walk to downtown Port Aransas.

The Texas Gulf Coast island beach town of Port Aransas is set along 18 miles of beachfront on Mustang Island. Port Aransas’ 18 miles of uninterrupted beach has long been recognized as a deep sea fishing destination for its proximity to deep water on the edge of the continental shelf, while offering bay fishing in the waterways surrounding Mustang Island.

Getting around Port A beaches by golf cart is a key part of the island’s casual island lifestyle, as well as one of its most popular attractions. Port Aransas was named a top beach town by Fodor’s and Travel Pulse and was also featured in Travel + Leisure and USA Today.

Home to hundreds of permanent and migrating birds, Mustang Island features six sites along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. Visitors can also swim, surf, fish, hike, bike and kayak at Mustang Island State Park or see views of the island’s massive wetlands at the Port Aransas Wetland Park.